Here With Me
by Im an Improviser
Summary: Both Jack Harkness and Ianto Jones are single fathers, who have sworn of relatioships for different reasons. But what hapen's when these two men, who said they would never love again, meet eachother? Will they be able to resist or are they meant to be? AU
1. Meet The Parent

CHAPTER ONE – Meet The Parents

It had been a long and tiring day for Captain Jack Harkness. The former military man turned PI had spent a good portion of his day trying to track down a man that did not seem to be in the city, until the daughter of the old lady who had called, called him and explained that her mother was slightly senile and forgot her husband was visiting family in Scotland.

Now, all Jack wanted to do was go home and go straight to bed, but he could not even do that. He had to put on dinner for the kids, help Owen with his homework and pack lunches, before having to trick them into going to bed on time.

Just the thought was making him more tired.

Despite this, he still sighed with relief once he had finally reached the front door of his small apartment. He fished out his keys and unlocked the door before swinging it open, only to find the room filled smoke.

Leaving the door open, Jack ran into the apartment, calling out, "Gwen, Owen. Where are you?"

He was met with silence, which only served to make him more panicked, until he heard his son whisper happily, "Your in trouble now Gwen."

"Shut up Owen," she hissed back.

Sighing in relief, Jack went back and closed the front door, before making his way into the kitchen. Sure enough both Gwen and Owen stood there, attempting to hide the smoking oven from his view.

With a bemused expression on his face, Jack asked, "What happened this time?"

Owen was of course, the first to cave in, pointing a finger at his sister and calling loudly, "Gwen burnted the dinner."

"Burnt Owen, and you helped," bit back Gwen, glaring at her little brother.

"Na ah."

Shaking his head, Jack walked passed the bickering siblings and opened the kitchen window, before getting a tea towel and opening the oven, to find an impossibly burnt tray of frozen lasagna.

He looked up at his oldest, who was fiddling with a singed tea towel, before saying, "You're supposed to take it out of the plastic tray Gwen."

The 15 year old looked up at him, arguing in a defensive voice, "Well I know that now. Your always the one who says live and learn aren't you."

Jack only rose an eyebrow, before taking out the destroyed meal, and putting it straight in the bin. He straightened up and looked around the room. It was considerably more messy than it had been when he left it that morning, but Jack could not help but smile at Gwen's effort to help him out.

"Thanks for trying," he said, messing up her hair as he walked passed to open the lounge window as well.

"Dad!" she cried in alarm, racing into the bathroom and fixing the damage he had done. A minute or so later, she came out of the small room, giving her father a withering glare and saying angrily, "Do you have any idea how long it took me to style it like that."

Jack smirked at this, before bending down quickly and scooping up Owen as he passed by in one of his many rounds of the flat, "Who wants Chinese for dinner."

Brightening up immediately, Gwen grinned and walked off to her room to get a coat, calling, "Apology excepted."

Owen looked up at Jack with confusion, and asked, "Did you apologize dad?"

Jack smirked. Lifting his son onto his shoulders, the PI stated in a long suffering voice, "Owen my boy, something I have learned over the years, is if a woman accepts an apology, even if you weren't apologizing, you just have to go with it."

"Whatever," was the only answer he got, before Owen started rattling off about all the things he had done at school that day.

----- TW -----

A hour and a half later, the Harkness family were all sat around a table in the corner of a nice Chinese shop, tucking into their meals.

Jack looked up from his fried rice to see Gwen fiddling with her own dinner, and asked, "What's wrong with you?"

Gwen gazed up at her father, looking like someone who had been waiting to be asked that question all night. A sly smirk spread across her face, as she said quietly, "I met someone."

"What do you mean you met someone?" asked Jack, a little taken aback by the girl's openness. Usually when she liked someone, it took weeks of spying, nagging and trickery to find out who it was.

Gwen rolled her eyes at him and said slowly, "I. Met. Someone. You know, a guy."

Frowning, Jack asked, "How old is he?"

That was the night that Jack learned, you never asked that question and continue eating.

"He looked around twenty eight."

"What?!" cried Jack, as he choked on the chicken he had been attempting to swallow.

Seeing his opportunity to be helpful, Owen stood up on his chair and thumped hard on his father's back until he finally stopped gagging. Catching his breath, Jack hissed, "Twenty-eight?"

"Thirty at the most," said Gwen, looking confused by her father's reaction. "I don't know what you're so upset about, it's not that much of an age difference."

"Not that much- your half his age Gwen," he said in exasperation.

Gwen's eye widened as she realized why Jack had been acting so odd, and clarified, "Oh, not for me! I was thinking for you."

Jack stared at her in silence for a moment, before collapsing back into his chair and sighing, "Not again Gwen."

"But this guy seems really nice Dad," pushed Gwen.

"Oh yeah?" Jack sighed again.

"He is. He's the father of one of the children in Owen's after school care, his name is Ianto Jones. He works as an accountant for a big firm in the city, and I know that you would really like him."

Jack's eyebrows rose with surprise, and he asked, "How do you know all that."

Giving him another sly smile, Gwen said offhandedly, "It's hardly my fault they just left these files lying about."

Jack shot his daughter a proud grin, saying, "As soon as you're old enough I'm hiring you."

"Thank you, so will you meet him?"

"No."

"But dad-" started Gwen, only to be interrupted by Jack who put up a hand and said, "Gwen, we have talked about me getting into relationships before. It never works out, you guys get attached and everyone gets hurt in the end. I'm not doing it any more, end of story."

Gwen looked crest fallen, but being her father's daughter, pushed on. "At least come and pick up Owen tomorrow so you can meet him. If you don't like him, or their's no spark, then I will let it go, but you never know if you don't try... something else you always tell us."

Jack sighed again, before asking, "You're not going to let this go until I do are you?"

With victory in sight, Gwen gave her best performance yet, saying in a sweet voice, "I don't know what you mean. But if I did I'm sure the answer would be no."

Chuckling, Jack shook his head in resignation, before answering, "Fine, I'll come pick up Owen tomorrow, and I might meet him. You happy now your highness?"

Grinning triumphantly, Gwen picked up a pair of chopsticks and replied, "Ecstatic," before digging into her food.

----- TW ------

"Alright Tosh I think it's time for bed," called Ianto from his office. Getting up from his desk, the young Welshman made his way out into the living room, where his ten year old daughter sat, watching the wide screen television fixed to the wall.

"What you watching?" he asked, leaning against the door frame.

Without looking away from the television, Tosh replied, "It's a documentary on computers and how they work."

Quirking an eyebrow with bemusement, Ianto asked, "Aren't you a little young to understand that?"

Tosh turned around and gazed up at her father, with an annoyed expression on her little face. She replied irritably, "I would be if they were talking about anything interesting. They're just taking the thing to pieces."

Ianto chuckled as he picked up the remote and turned off the program, before scooping Tosh up in his arm. "Well it's time for all the little genius's to go to bed," he announced, playfully tickling the girls stomach as he made his way into her bedroom.

Pulling back the covers, he plopped her down on the mattress, before wrapping her tightly up with the blankets.

"You done your teeth already?" he asked, as he handed her the stuffed teddy her mother had given her.

Tosh gave him a massive grin so he can see all her teeth, which usually meant, "Yes dad look."

Smiling, he bent down and kissed her forehead, before whispering, "Time for sleep. Night sweety."

"Nu-night," Tosh yawned back, hugging her teddy closer and quickly falling to sleep.

Tosh had always been good when it came to bed time, something that Ianto was eternally grateful for. It had been hard enough to raise someone who reminded him so much of Lisa, he did not know how they would have made it through the last decade together if Tosh had been difficult.

Luckily for him though, Tosh had always been sweet and brilliantly behaved. She was smarter than her years would suggest, frequently baffling her father with facts that she had picked up from one place or another.

Shaking his head, Ianto smiled and made his way back to his office, to finish off the work he had been forced to bring home with him.


	2. Accounts & Introductions

CHAPTER Two: Accounts & Introductions

"You're late!" cried Gwen the moment Jack stepped out of his black SUV.

Jack glanced down at his watch before replying, "It's just half past four, I'm right on time. Which is a miracle in itself. I was stuck in the office all day trying to help out some accountant that John hired."

"Uncle John hired an accountant?"

"So he wouldn't have to do the financing like I asked him to," explained Jack, following Gwen as she lead the way to the center. "I don't think I even got his name."

As they entered the building, Jack could not help but flinch as a loud chorus of "Mr Jack!" echoed around the room.

Before he knew what was happening, a large group of children, aging from five to 12, had surrounded him. This was why he got Gwen to pick up Owen.

"Mr Jack, can you tell us another story?" asked one little boy.

Jack had to stop himself from saying out loud that telling them the first story was a big enough mistake, instead choosing to reply, "Not right now, kiddo."

There was a chorus of disappointed groans, but before any of them could make more requests, Jack found himself being saved by the head child worker.

"Okay, kids, leave Mr. Jack be."

All the children reluctantly went back to the activities they had been doing before Jack arrive, giving the middle aged lady accusatory glares as they walked past.

"You have left quite an impression it seems," she smiled, leading the way to the front desk where he could sign Owen out.

Jack was waiting for another man who was signing his daughter out, when Owen bolted over and launched himself at his father, causing him to lose his balance and stumble into that man.

"Owen, what have I told you about doing that," he growled irritably, attempting to push Owen down as he proceeded to make his way up to his father's shoulders. Turning around, he smiled apologetically at the other man and said, "Sorry about that," before realizing that he was staring face to face at the accountant that he had been working with all day.

The man grinned back, and replied in a Welsh accented voice, "Not a problem. I know what kids are like."

"Yeah," chuckled Jack. He held out his hand and grinned, "I don't think we ever did get introduced today, Captain Jack Harkness, and who are you?"

Grinning also, the other man shook his hand and replied, "Jones, Ianto Jones."

Jack's eye widened and had to quickly put a hand over Owen's mouth before he blurted out, "That's the one Gwen was talking about."

Smiling pleasantly, the man took hold of his daughter's hand and passed Jack the pen so he could sign out, saying as he stepped back, "I think I may see you some time tomorrow about those finances. It was however, a pleasure to meet you, Captain."

Jack flashed him one of his trademark grins and replied, "And you, Jones, Ianto Jones."

Ianto grinned as well, before nodding farewell and heading out of the door. Jack stared after him until Owen felt obliged to kick him in the shins and say, "I'm bored, can we get ice cream on the way home."

----- TW -----

As they pulled out of the car park of Tosh's after school care, Ianto asked in as offhanded voice he could manage, "Do you know who that guy was?"

Not looking up from the laptop that she had on her lap, Tosh replied, "Yeah."

"What do you know?"

Still not looking up from the computer, Tosh asked, "Didn't you say you would see him again tomorrow? You know him already don't you?"

Ianto could not decide whether he should be proud or irritated by how easily his daughter had chopped down his whole 'ignorance story".

Sighing, Ianto answered, "I met him today, but we didn't really talk outside business, so all I know about him is that he is terrible with paperwork. So, what do you know?"

Finally looking up from her computer, Tosh's expression was a mix of curiosity and amusement. She answered, "He's Owen's dad. He used to work for the air force, and now he runs a Personal Investigation agency, he told us all a story last time he came in and now everybody likes him...He's nice, he reminds me of you."

Ianto gave her a surprised look, before focusing back on the road. "And how's that?"

"Well, he's funny and nice, and he looks just as lonely as you do."

Ianto spluttered at this, saying indignantly, "I do not look lonely."

"You do too," argued Tosh, crossing her arms.

Rolling his eyes, Ianto asked, "Doesn't he have a wife...or partner?"

Tosh shook her head, saying sadly, "I asked Owen about his mum once, and he said that she went away and it was just him and his dad and sister."

Ianto could not help but feel a pain of sympathy for the man. Lisa dying had been incredibly hard for both him and Tosh, he did not have any idea how much worse it would have been if she had just walked out on them.

"You seemed to like him," Tosh slyly stated.

Ianto gave his daughter a suspicious glance, replying slowly, "He was quite nice today."

"And he seemed to like you," the ten year old pushed.

"Maybe," conceded Ianto.

They fell into silence and Ianto had just begun to think that maybe the conversation had finished, when Tosh chipped in happily, "You should date."

"We should date?" asked Ianto slowly.

"Yes. It's what you do when you like someone, isn't it," said Tosh, her voice making it clear that she thought that the concept was simple enough to understand.

Shaking his head, Ianto laughed and replied, "I'm pretty sure usually, you have to have known the person longer than one day."

----- TW -----

"You see, it's fate. You're meant to be together," announced Gwen as they waited at the counter of a small corner shop for the ice creams that Owen had been wailing for ever since they left the center.

"Wrong, it was a coincidence," argued Jack, handing some coins over to the shop assistant and then handing the two ice creams to Gwen and Owen, before heading back to the car.

"I don't believe in coincidences."

"Nice for you then."

Sighing in exasperation, Gwen decided to take a different approach. "But you did like him, didn't you?"

"Oh, Gwen," groaned Jack, fighting the urge to bang his head against the steering wheel as he put the car into gear, handing Owen a DVD to play in the back.

"Don't you?" pressed Gwen, trying to hide her triumphant grin.

Rolling his eyes, Jack replied, "I've known him for one day, Gwen, what are you expecting, a declaration of undying love or something?"

Shrugging, Gwen replied, "A simple, 'yes I do', is good, but any declarations are fine in book."

"Unbelievable," sighed Jack as he pulled back out onto the road.

"Come on," complained Gwen.

Jack could see that the 15 year old was not going to let it go until she got an answer. "He's nice... for an accountant, and that is the best you are getting Gwen," Jack cried in defeat.

"I knew it. Now we just have to get you two onto a date and then before you know it, you'll be a taken man."

"Why do you care so much?" asked Jack.

Gwen did not answer right away. She started fiddling with the wrapper of her eaten ice cream, before saying slowly, "Because you're lonely, and you need someone nice to be with for once."

Gwen saw her father glance at her, his expression surprised, before he said, "I'm not lonely, Gwen."

"Yes, you are. Ever since Mum left, we've only had each other, and I just realized how difficult it must have been for you."

Jack gulped nervously, this conversation was getting a little too heavy. "So what brought this on?"

Gwen sighed again, something Jack had noticed she was doing a lot lately, and replied, "Andy's dad just walked out on him and his mum, and he needs to talk to somebody to about it."

"Oh."

"And he told me about how upset his mum is, and how difficult everything had been for them, and I realized that you went through the same thing."

"You don't have to worry about me, Gwen, I'm fine," said Jack, patting Gwen's hand.

"But you would be more than fine if you found somebody that you liked. I'm just trying to find that someone for you."

Jack smiled at her, and replied, "Gwen, thank you for caring so much, but I'm fine. Besides, I have you and Owen to spend time with."

"That's not what I mean."

"I know it isn't," grinned Jack, as he swung the car into a free spot out front their apartment building, and announced, "Everyone out."


	3. Knight In Suit And Tie

CHAPTER THREE: A Knight In Suit & Tie

"Look, I'm sorry Ianto, but I'm going to have to leave you," announced Jack, getting up from behind his desk and pulling on his great coat.

He gave the accountant an apologetic smile, which the young Welshman batted away, replying gently, "Don't worry about it. I think we were about finished anyway."

Nodding, Jack looked out into the main office, seeing both John and Mickey had left for home, leaving only Martha. Offering his hand to Ianto, Jack said, "Well, thanks for sorting out our horrendously bad paperwork. I'll try to make sure it's not that bad next time you visit."

Ianto grinned and shook Jack's hand, replying, "I look forward to it."

"Yeah?" muttered Jack before he could stop himself. "I mean, yeah- see you then."

Chuckling, Ianto let go of the captain's hand and started flicking through one of the last files. Jack quickly left the office and walked over to where Martha stood making coffee for herself.

He stood behind her and whispered in her ear, "Do you reckon you could stay until Ianto leaves?"

If it had been anyone else, they would have jumped a foot in the air at the sudden voice, probably resulting in both themselves and Jack receiving third degree burns, however Martha just smiled and turned around to face her employer and close friend, replying, "Sure. Where you off to?"

"Got to try and track down that Scott Hopkins guy."

"Again?"

Jack pulled a face before replying in a dramatically pained voice, "Again."

Martha smiled reassuringly and patted him on the shoulder. "You'll get him this time."

Jack grinned back, before sauntering towards the door and calling over his shoulder, "And we may finally get paid."

"Possibly," laughed Martha, turning back to the coffee machine as the door closed behind Jack.

----- TW -----

"Why does this always happen when I do these things by myself?" grumbled Jack, as he almost toppled over a group of high school students walking in the opposite direction.

Calling an apology over his shoulder, Jack continued rushing through the crowded streets of town, trying not to lose sight of his mark up ahead.

Jack and John had been trying to track down Scott Hopkins for the police for almost a month, and the man had slipped through their fingers every single time they came close to catching him.

To say that this had bruised the two captain's egos, would be a gross understatement. He was a couple of infuriating meters away from Jack, and the only thing that was in his way of finally catching the man, was the continuous flow of people walking in the opposite direction, determined to get to their homes.

"If someone could stop him I would appreciate it!" yelled Jack as he pushed passed several businessmen, almost tripping over one.

As expected, no one made a move to help.

Jack was starting to think that it was about time he gave up. Maybe if he paid Martha off, she wouldn't tell John he had screwed up the case again. But then, his chances of catching Hopkins suddenly drastically increased. Obviously hoping to lose Jack, the man darted out of the crowd, and ran into a narrow alley. Grinning widely, Jack chased after him.

Jack's grin widened when he saw the alley had been blocked off, and now the only thing standing between Hopkins and escape was him.

"You know, you're a difficult man to track down," stated Jack, taking a step towards the man.

Jack sized Hopkins up as he got glared at. He looked around 30 but was rather muscular, and Jack thought he could smell alcohol on him. 'Shouldn't be much of a problem,' decided Jack.

"I didn't do anything!" yelled Hopkins, his words slurring together. 'Yep, drunk'.

The wide grin on Jack's face dulled a little, before he replied in a serious voice, "That's not what I've been told."

For a moment, the two of them attempted to stare down the other, before Jack sighed, and started, "Look, they're only minor charges, with a good lawyer you should get- wow!"

Hopkins gave no warning before he charged, and Jack didn't really notice what was happening until he heard him scramble back to his feet and start to run off. Thinking fast, Jack rolled over and kicked out at the fleeing man's legs, huffing with satisfaction as he watched him collapse back to the ground.

Deciding that Hopkins didn't look like he was going to be moving anytime soon, Jack fished his mobile out of his pocket, and called his contact at the police. However when he requested that a couple of PCs meet him in the alley, he didn't really think out too well, how he was going to word it.

"No I don't want to do that with them, just send some PCs to the bloody alley!" cried Jack as he watched Hopkins slowly stagger back to his feet. Scrambling to his own, Jack yelled, "Quickly," down the line, before hanging up, and tackling him to the ground.

Unfortunately for Jack, the man was not as injured as he had suspected, and was ready to fight. As soon as they hit the ground, Jack was met with an onslaught of alcohol and adrenaline fuelled violence, which resulted in him lying flat on his back – considerably more winded and sore than he had been before entering the alley.

Jack heard Hopkins getting to his feet again, and quite frankly, he could not care less any more. The captain was quite content with just lying there on the floor of the alley for a couple of minutes, feeling sorry for himself and coming up with the story he would tell John the next day, when a loud thud brought him out of his daze.

He froze when he heard the sound of footsteps, coming his way. With a painful groan, he pulled his arms up to shield his face from blows, figuring that it was Hopkins coming back for a second go. So he was surprised when the instead of getting booted in the side like he expected, a gentle hand rested on his shoulder, and a familiar voice started to reassure him that there was nothing to worry about.

Frowning in confusion, he slowly peeked out from behind his arms, to find none other than Ianto Jones sitting next to him, looking down with a concerned expression on his face.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, gently taking the hand that rested on the younger man's lap, wincing in sympathy as he noticed it was quickly beginning to redden. "You alright?"

"Just the questions I was going to ask you," commented Ianto, his shoulders sagging slightly in relief. "Can you get up."

Still holding onto Ianto's hurt hand, Jack patted up and down his body with the other, wincing slightly as he hit a couple sore spots on his chest and stomach, before looking up at the young Welshman and replying, "Finishing off a job for the police, yes to the second and yes to the third."

Ianto frowned in confusion, until he realized the Jack was answering his questions. Grinning widely, he stood up himself, before offering his good hand to Jack, and pulling the captain to his feet.

"You knocked him out?" asked Jack, giving Ianto an impressed look, before turning back to Scott Hopkins, who was lying just short of the mouth of the alley.

"Not really," replied Ianto, pulling Jack's arm around his shoulders and supporting the older man's weight as they limped closer. "I just punched him, and he fell against the wall and knocked himself out."

"Is that the truthful or official story?" asked Jack, his eyes twinkling mischievously.

Unfortunately they were interrupted before Ianto could answer, by two PCs running into the alley.

"Your timing is terrible," commented Jack, removing his arm from around Ianto's shoulders, and forcing his body to stand on its own.

"What happened to you then?" sniggered one of the PCs, smirking as he pointed at Jack's, rapidly bruising, face.

Jack glared at the both of them, and snapped, "Just do your job and take him before he wakes up."

Rolling their eyes, the PCs handcuffed Hopkins before taking him to the station, calling, "Go see the Sergeant bout being paid."

Jack sighed in relief as they left, and sagged a little against the wall.

"Thanks for the help."

Ianto gave him a small smile, and replied, "Not a problem," before looking closer at Jack and muttering with concern, "Those look pretty bad."

Jack laughed, saying lightly, "Don't worry, they're just bruises." However, when he went to take a step out of the alley, he stumbled a little, resulting in Ianto throwing an arm around his shoulders and guiding him out.

"Where did you park your car?" he asked.

Smirking, Jack replied, "That's a little forward isn't it Mr. Jones?"

Ianto gave him a look that said quite clearly, he was not messing around, and Jack sighed. "Should be up the road."

"Alright, I'll drive you home," announced Ianto. "It's not the best idea for you to drive if you can't even walk by yourself."

Jack grumbled as he couldn't find any way to argue with the Welshman's logic, and allowed himself to be lead back to his own car.

"What about yours?" he asked as he sat down in the passenger's seat.

Ianto only shrugged and replied, "It's being serviced, I was going to catch the train home."

"Oh, okay."

It took the two of them about 15 minutes to find their way back to Jack's apartment. Jack spent most of the time explaining how he just knew where his apartment was, not exactly how to get to it from a passenger's perspective, which Ianto found rather funny.

However they finally managed it, and a couple of minutes later, Jack was unlocking the door and asking Ianto inside. By this time he had regained the ability of walking in a straight line, but the bruises adorning his body were starting to really sting.

And apparently they looked just as bad as they felt. Illustrated by Gwen, who came into the room talking on her mobile, only to gasp and drop it to the ground.

"Hey, that's an expensive phone!" cried Jack.

Gwen quickly picked up the small device again, and said, "I'll call you back Rhys," before running over to her dad.

"What happened?" she asked, looking at both Jack and Ianto.

"Had a little trouble catching a guy for the police, nothing to worry about."

"Doesn't look like that from here,"she bit back, pointing at his face.

"You know some people find battle wounds very attractive," argued Jack, crossing his arms over his chest, only to wince when he hit a tender spot and ruin the whole effect.

"And some people find that acting like you're fine when you're not is incredibly stupid."

"I'm inclined to agree," chipped in Ianto, still looking at Jack with concern.

"Aren't you supposed to be picking up Owen about now?" asked Jack, feeling slightly put out at being ganged up on.

Gwen checked her watch, then gazed up at Jack, looking torn between which responsibility took higher precedence: looking after her brother or looking after her dad.

Seeing this, Ianto offered uncertainly, "I could- pick up Owen with Tosh if you want, and drop him back here."

Before Jack could get a word in, Gwen had answered, "Oh would you? That would be great. Thank you so much."

Smiling again, Ianto took the keys Gwen offered him, and replied, "Not a problem, I'll be back in a bit."

As the door closed behind him, Jack turned to Gwen and asked, "How do we know that we'll ever see that car again?"

"Oh don't be so cynical. There is such a thing as a good people you know dad," replied Gwen, walking into the kitchen to get the first aid kit.

"So what happened really?" she asked, as she began to dab at a small cut above Jack's eyebrow.

Jack explained how he had ended up in a fist fight with Scott Hopkins, and how Ianto had come in out of the blue and stopped him from getting away long enough for the police to arrive, and then insisted on driving him home.

By the end of the story, Gwen was grinning ear to ear.

Jack eyed her wearily, and asked, "What?"

"Your knight in shining armor."

"Oh god Gwen," sighed Jack, pressing his hands to his face, enduring the pain that touching the bruises there caused.

"What, it's romantic," grinned Gwen, sitting down in the recliner opposite her father. "You should ask him out to dinner."

"Gwen, I have known him for two days."

"That's beside the point."

"I said no relationships, and he probably feels the same way," hissed Jack.

"Well you don't know till you try," argued Gwen, using his own philosophy against him for the second time in as many days.

Leaning back in his chair, Jack looked at Gwen and said in a stern voice, "No, and that is final."

----- TW -----

_**If there are any parents or generally responcible people out there, I know that the likelyhood of a parent letting a man they have known for two days, take their car and pick up there son is pretty much nonexistent, And I'm afraid I can't really come up with a resonable excuse as to whhy it's alright here, so please don't shoot me.**_

_**And if you hadn't noticed that until I pointed it out... um, try and forget that paragraph above. Yep there, see it? Read it? Good, now forget it.  
;) much appreciated.**_

Thanks for all the lovelly reviews and please keep them coming, it's surprising how uplifting they are isn't it. :D


	4. Dinner At Jack's

CHAPTER FOUR – Dinner At Jack's

Owen announced his arrival in much the same way that he did every time he entered a room, by flinging the door open so it smashes against the wall holding it and running inside yelling at the top of his lungs.

"Why haven't we been evicted yet?" groaned Jack, rubbing irritably at his temples.

After throwing his coat and bag off at the door, Owen raced into the living room, with both Ianto and Tosh walking behind at a distinctly slower pace.

The seen year old skidded to a stop in front of his father, and gazed up in interest, at the bruises adorning his face, before deciding he would have a better view at them if he was standing on the empty spot on the couch.

An amused smile spread itself over Jack's face as Owen climbed up beside him, and asked in a mock serious voice, "Are you my doctor Owen."

"Yep," he muttered, as he balanced on the cushion and began to gently prod the purpling skin. After several more prods, he asked seriously, "Is your head fuzzy?"

Frowning in confusion, Jack responded slowly, "No. Why?"

Owen grinned, and plopped down beside his father, before answering, "Because if it was, I would have to stop you from sleeping."

Both Ianto and Gwen laughed as Jack turned to them, a stunned expression on his face.

Still chuckling lightly Ianto picked up Tosh's backpack, and announced, "He'll make a good doctor someday. Unfortunately, I think it's time that Tosh and I get a move on, it's getting late and I gotta put dinner on."

Jack, who had been trying to ignore Gwen's less than subtle hints to ask Ianto out, almost groaned out loud when he found _himself _feeling oddly put out at the thought of Ianto leaving so soon.

'Oh...that is so inconvenient' a voice inside his head sighed.

Making his mind up, Jack quickly got to his feet as Ianto turned to leave, and said awkwardly, "Well, since I seem to owe you for this afternoon, maybe you could- stay for dinner here. You know, as a thank you."

"Aren't you hurt?" asked Ianto, the concerned expression that had been present for the passed hour spreading across the young Welshman's face again.

Shrugging, Jack replied, "I'm feeling better already. I get over these things pretty quickly. We could go down to the pizza shop across the road, so I don't scar you both with my awful cooking...what d'yah say?"

Jack, Gwen and Owen all watched as Ianto and Tosh glanced at each other. Tosh gave her dad an encouraging grin, which seemed to help him make up his mind. Grinning also, Ianto turned back to Jack and replied, "Alright then, that would be brilliant."

----- TW -----

"How did you do that?" gasped Owen, watching in awe as Tosh maneuvered their character around a group of seemingly bloodthirsty aliens, shooting down to before jumping down to the sewers to confront the rest.

"You said that you never played this game."

"I haven't" Tosh replied, returning Owen's impressed grin with a small embarrassed smile.

Shaking his head, Ianto pushed off of the wall he had been leaning against, and left the two children crowded around Tosh's laptop, in favor of searching out Jack, who was supposed to be calling for the pizza.

It didn't take him very long to track down both the captain and Gwen, who were standing in the kitchen, the latter stating in a forced reasonable voice, "But what if something happens to me."

"And when will that be ready?" asked Jack, before putting a hand over the mouthpiece of the phone and hissing, "Would you leave it for five minutes."

"What if I needed to call you for help?" pushed on Gwen, a mischievous glint flashing in her eyes as victory came into sight.

Holding up a hand for silence, Jack continued speaking to the person on the other end of the line, before thanking them and turning to Gwen, sighing, "Repeat that."

"What if I need to call you for help?" asked Gwen, looking the picture of sincerity.

Ianto had to admit that the teenager was making a very compelling argument, even though he didn't know exactly what it was that she was after.

Unfortunately for Gwen, it turned out that Jack was just as good at arguing a point.

"That's why I put my number on reverse charge, so you can call me even if you don't have any credit left," he replied, a smug grinning spreading over his face.

'Ah, phone credit. Thank goodness Tosh hasn't reached this stage'. Ianto watched in amusement as Gwen huffed, knowing that she wasn't going to win. She pressed on none the less, stating empathetically, "I. Need. It."

"Well if you 'Needed. It.' so much, you wouldn't use all of it withing a week of me buying you more," replied Jack, the smug grin still on his face. It was only then that he noticed Ianto standing in the doorway, watching the scene unfold.

Standing up a little straighter, Jack announced, "Pizza should be ready in about ten minutes, do you want to get going?"

"Sure," replied Ianto, figuring that Jack probably just wanted to get away from Gwen's badgering.

Gwen seemed to come to this conclusion also. "We're not finished here."

"Yes we are," argued Jack, with an edge to his voice that said quite clearly that the conversation had indeed ended.

Sighing in frustration, Gwen threw her arms in the air and announced dramatically, "Fine, but if something happens to me, I hope you can live with the guilt."

"It something happened to you," Jack called after her as she stalked into her bedroom, amusement clear in his voice, "I doubt Rhys or Andy would be any help to you."

He turned to Ianto as Gwen's door closed rather loudly, and smiled apologetically. "Don't mind us, this is a nightly ritual."

Chuckling lightly, Ianto replied, "I can imagine."

Jack chuckled as well, before gesturing towards the door and asking, "Shall we?"

"I see no reason why not."

As they made their way through the living room to the front door, they stopped in front of the couch Tosh and Owen were sitting on, the both of them still playing the video game that Owen had loaded onto Tosh's laptop.

"The both of you behave," instructed Jack, before adding, "And when I say both of you, I mean you Owen. No cooking, no wrestling, and if I can hear music from the shop than it's too loud."

"Spoil sport," moaned Owen, poking his tongue out.

"I have such respectful children," sighed Jack, rolling his eyes. "I mean it Owen, best behavior."

"Okay!" cried Owen, not taking his eyes off of the laptop, which was emitting very ominous sounding music.

"You too Tosh," added Ianto, as Jack went to go and get the coats off of the recliner.

He hadn't expected much more than the hum of approval that he got in return. Smiling indulgently at seeing Tosh with another kid for once, Ianto quickly pecked her on the cheek, before catching the coat Jack threw him and following the captain out of the door.

---- TW -----

An hour and a half later, Ianto found himself sitting in an oddly comfortable wooden chair at the end of Jack's dining table, watching the aforementioned party recite how he and his business partner John, got chased out of London by a mob.

"We had been running for ages, I thought we might have lost him. So I look over my shoulder," announced Jack, smiling slyly at how rapt his audience was. "And not only is the guy still chasing us, he's got friends. About 20 of them, and these were big guys and they were out for blood!"

Ianto grinned and the children who were all staring at Jack began to laugh louder than they had before. Ianto couldn't help but laugh also as he noticed how pleased with himself Jack looked.

Taking a sip of his coffee before someone knocked it over, Ianto leaned back in his chair again, and simply enjoy the experience of having dinner at someone else's house.

It had been quite a while since either he or Tosh had been able to enjoy such an event, mainly due to the both of them not having that many friends. Lisa had always been the social butterfly, inviting people over and dragging the both of them to go see someone else. It was nice to finally do it again, and Jack and his kids were brilliant hosts.

Owen had hardly left Tosh's side all evening, the two of them seemed to be forming quite a strong friendship. And both Jack and Gwen couldn't have been more welcoming if they tried. It hadn't been long before Ianto found himself having the most fun that he had had in a long time.

Unfortunately, it wasn't long before the young Welshman had to announce that it was getting late and he and Tosh had to get going home.

"I'll drive you," announced Jack, getting up from the table and grabbing the keys that had been resting on the television set where Ianto had left them that afternoon.

"I wouldn't want to be a bother," replied Ianto, attempting to ignore how his stomach felt like it was flipping.

"You wouldn't be," countered Jack, before adding, "Come on, just to be safe."

Ianto found himself experiencing a very odd feeling, it was a mixture of reluctance and elation. His stomach was still doing flips worthy of Olympic gymnasts, while his chest tightened with guilt of putting Jack out even further. After a couple of seconds of eternal debating, a grateful smile tugged at his lips and he replied, "I would appreciate that,thanks."

Jack grinned as well. Clapping his hands togeather, he said, "Right then, Gwen you're in charge, stop your brother from-"

"Burning down the house, yeah I know," finished Gwen, making her way over to the couch, mobile already in hand.

----- TW ------

The car ride back to Ianto's apartment was both uneventful and short. It turned out that he and Tosh didn't actually live that far away from Jack's apartment, although his end of the neighborhood was distinctly flashier than Jack's own.

Most of the trip had been spent answering Tosh's numerous questions about the various devices that he, John, Mickey and Martha had hooked up to the SUV.

"What about that?" she asked, as Jack pulled into a free spot out front the apartment building Ianto pointed out as their's.

Looking down at what the girl was pointing at as he unbuckled his seatbelt and got out the car, Jack answered with a small scoff, "That's some glorified GPS that John dug up."

"Oh...nice! How's it work?"

Luckily, Jack was saved the embarrassment of admitting that he didn't know how the piece of junk worked, by Ianto interrupting, "I think that's enough questions for tonight Tosh."

Despite agreeing full heartedly with the accountant, Jack couldn't help but feel guilty when he caught sight of the ten year old's disappointed face as she also climbed out. Crouching down so he was her height, he suggested, "How about we talk about it next time I see you eh?"

He grinned as Tosh brightened up immediately, before replying happily, "Alright, see you later Jack," and running into the building and the open lift inside.

'Right, now for the scary bit.'

Jack took a deep breath, before standing up and turning to Ianto. Ignoring the little voice that told him that 'this is your last chance to pull out', Jack asked, "That is... if you wanna see _me _again?"

A second passed before Jack burst out, "Alright that was awful. I was just thinking, maybe you and I- could go out one night. You know, dinner... movie?"

Looking incredibly surprised, Ianto asked, "Are you asking me out on a date?"

The thing about Jack, is he hardly ever gets embarrassed... about anything. So when it does occasionally happen, he tends to be really bad at hiding it. He almost physically kicked himself when he felt his face began to burn up.

"Interested?" he asked, determined to at least sound normal, even if he wasexpecting to get shot down at any second.

"Alright."

Jack's head snapped up in surprise, to find Ianto grinning in front of him. Before he could stop himself, he asked, "Yeah?"

Laughing lightly, Ianto nodded. "Yep. Looking forward to it."

Jack stood there for a second, too surprised to do much more, before pulling himself together and grinning back, "Great. Are you free Saturday?"

"Saturday's great with me," replied Ianto, laughing at how sheerly relieved Jack looked.

"Right, I'll see you Saturday then," nodded Jack, before spinning on his heel and practically bouncing back to the SUV.

----- TW -----


End file.
